There are numerous prehistorical and early historicalringworks andfortification ramparts in Central Europe that have erroneously, usually colloquially, been given the nameSchwedenschanze, which means "Swedishredoubt", aschanze being a hastily erected, militaryfieldwork.
This name arose in connexion with the fighting during theThirty Years' War, when the population of theHoly Roman Empire often used old field fortifications asrefuge castles or hidden livestock pens. Particularly in Catholic areas this action was taken to protect people from the Protestant forces of the Swedish king,Gustavus II Adolphus. Whether the individual fortifications were actually used as fighting positions, however, is usually speculative. Many of the often well preservedearthworks in the forests of Europe were probably later associated wrongly with this religious war.
The history of these heritage sites often goes back several thousand years. They were frequently extended during theEarly Middle Ages, for example, to defendEast Francia and other regions in the 10th century from theHungarian invasions.
It is true that in the 17th century, during the Thirty Years' War, numerous earthworks andschanzen were thrown up during the conflict. But these are clearly distinguishable from the older sites by their regular, geometric shapes. Occasionally there were also fortifications that were actually built by theImperial Army or theCatholic League that were later calledSchwedenschanzen; such as theSchwedenschanze in the Rhön.
